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The Cycle Show and London eBike Festival organiser Immediate Live has launched a new line-up of e-bike demo days for this summer.
Immediate Live will house the events alongside its newly launched Artisan Festival at Hampton Court Palace and the Artisan Collective Fair at National Trust’s Wimpole Estate, with a larger stand-alone version at Alexandra Palace which will form part of the venue’s summer schedule of outdoor events.
“The industry’s stock shortages unfortunately put pay to the viability of the indoor shows this year, but several brands expressed the desire to keep driving demand to IBDs by showcasing e-bikes to the public and, critically, getting people riding them who may never have considered owning one before,” said Immediate Live’s Chris Holman.
The tracks at the artisan festivals are ‘short and sweet and designed to give visitors a taste of what electric bikes offer’. Holman said: “As we all know, it doesn’t take long for riders to get the ‘e-bike grin’ so the artisan festival activations are very much about doing just that. It will give brands an opportunity to speak to an affluent audience of potential leisure riders who are ‘knowledge poor’ when it comes to electric bikes.”
Alexandra Palace will have a longer commuter track with the same incline that RedBull takes advantage of for its Soapbox Races, plus a loop in the woodland for MTBs and gravel bikes. “We’re definitely not trying to replicate trail centres further afield, but offering an opportunity for existing riders and new cyclists from London and home counties to try out the various e-bike options properly. Again, the opportunity to chat directly to the brands about what’s best for them will be a strong attraction for the ever-growing leisure and commuter audience in the capital.”
The demo rides at the artisan fairs will run all day with bikes available on a first-come basis. At Alexandra Palace, there will be a registration system in place for timed sessions so the organisers can manage footfall at peak periods. “We’re treating the Alexandra Palace event as a taster of our annual Cycle Show and London eBike Festival in April and an opportunity for us to fine-tune our procedures for the test tracks next year.
“Opportunities to test-ride bikes in London are few and far between and so the terrain at Alexandra Palace and the brands we have coming to the show are a key USP for the Immediate Live events and we want to make the demo experience the best we can make it.”
The demo days will be promoted across Immediate Media’s portfolio of consumer titles and to the enthusiasts, casual riders and non-cyclists who visit the company’s shows, and the organising team are also working with local government to promote the events as part of their cycling initiatives.
The venues for the e-bike demo days are:
– Hampton Court Palace Artisan Festival: 18th-20th June 2021 – three brands only
– Alexandra Palace: 14th-15th August 2021
– The Artisan Collective Fair, Wimpole Estate: 3rd-5th September 2021 – three brands only
The following brands have agreed to take part in this year’s demo line-up: Madison with Ridgeback and Saracen, Specialized, Gocycle, Ison with Benno, Gazelle, CSG with GT and Cannondale, Moore Large with Tern and Forme, ARCC, Wisper, Vanmoof, Electrify Bikes, eStarli, Angell, Talio and Cairn. Spaces for bike brands are strictly limited, organisers said, and there is a single opportunity for a helmet brand to be a partner for all three events.
The demo events are organised by Immediate Live, the trading name for Upper Street Events and River Street Events. For more information on the Cycle Show visit www.cycleshow.co.uk. For more information on the London eBike Festival powered by Shimano Steps, visit www.londonebikefestival.co.uk.
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